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[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

I give Not Bob my proxy on the underlying debate about collective bargaining versus this kind of individual bargaining.

But I'd point out that, economically, unions have been critical to the US economy. The ability of the workers in the auto plants to buy the cars they make, and of other workers in other industries to similarly be able to afford their own products, is what has given us the powerful market that we have today, and that has arisen because of collective bargaining.

One of the things happening today in tech is that the work is starting to get fragmented out so low wage sweatshop environments can be used to perform some of the work not needing more talented or educated work forces. The dynamics that made tech a high-wage industry that wasn't unionized, especially the shortage of talent and the need for unique talents for even ordinary tasks, are fading. If collective bargaining doesn't develop in the industry, expect to see big economic problems as that portion of the US market's buying power shrinks.

We live in a world today where large portions of the country have chosen, especially by undermining unions and education, to compete with China, Vietnam and the Philippines, at the very point when China in particular is choosing to compete with California and Massachusetts. Aim higher, people. Aim higher.

this has been debated here before, but the reason the UAW factories were able to provide high wages for work that could be done in other countries for a fraction of the price, is that US union members in other industries would never buy an Asian made car. And in turn UAW workers would never buy a Japanese TV. As long as those constructs held all was good. then they didn't hold anymore. Jobs are farmed out to low wage areas out of greed, at least not in the way you mean. jobs are farmed out because americans will no longer pay for americans to be paid.